Car-replacer.



L. H. LBDBETTER.

CAR REPLAGER.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 2a, 1913.

1,119,704. Patented Dec.1,1914. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

L. H. LEDBETTER.

GAR REPLAGER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

THF NORRIS PETERS C01. PHOTO L/THCL, WASHI'VG mm, D c,

UNITED TAT S PATENT OFFXQE.

LOUIS H. LEDBETTER, 0F CHILLICO'IHE, TEXAS.

cAR-REPLACER.

Application filed May 28, 1913. Serial No. 770,483.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS H. LEDBETTER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Chillicothe, in the county of Hardeman and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Replacers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the class of car replacers, consisting of a portable device, commonly called a frog or shoe, which is adapted to be placed over or beside a track rail and which includes an inclined plane or way for the 'wheel to be directed upon the track, an

outer directing flange for guiding the wheel to its position'upon the track, which is provided with a wheel flange platform and wheel tread platform, the car wheel to be arranged upon either of the said platforms thus arranged with relation to the rail to be properly delivered. or positioned upon said rail. 7 v

The invention includes twofrogs or shoes which are used together and which are both of a substantially similar construction, the

same co-acting in such a way as to replace acar truck in a novel and expeditious manner. 1

\Vith the above recited objects in view, and others which will appear as the nature of the invention ismore fully understood,

- the invention resides in the construction,

inverted view of one of the replacers or frogs, Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the frog, Fig. 6 is a View illustrating the local relation of the front wheels of a car truck to the replacing frogs or shoes when the lat-;

ter are placed in position for effecting replacement of the truck on the rails, and Fig.

7 is a view illustrating the initial position of the wheels of the truck upon the frogs and about to be directed bythe frogs to the rails.

will presently be understood.

At opposite inclinations from the endsof.

two frogs, A and B, which when employed together provide my car replacing means. ltwill be noted that both of the frogs are of a substantially similar construction but 1n arranging vthe same upon the rails to replace the wheels of a car truck the rear faces ofone of the frogs, upon one of the rails, is arranged adjacent the front face of the co-acting frog which is positioned upon the adjacent rail.

Each of the frogs comprises two horizontally straight'portions which meet at the center of the frog, and one of each is disposed a distance above the other, the elevated platform being designated by the nu- Specification of Letters Patent. 1 Dec, 1,1914 7 meral 1 and being adapted to serve for the reception of the tread of the wheel of the truck and the lower platformdesignated by the numeral 2 being adapted to receive the flanges of the wheels of the truck. Both of these platforms have, what I will term, their inner faces vertically straight, and each of,

the said faces provides a longitudinally straight wall 13 which forms the inner wall of a wheel flange-channel 4. The outer wall. of this channel 4 is provided with a verti-.

callystraight member 6 which is arranged longitudinally of the shoe and is extended i a suitable distance beyond the ends of each of the platforms 1 and 2, the said vertical member having an upper outturned horizontally straight wall 7 which has its'terminal provided with a downturned flange 8. The'underface of the head 7, the flange 8,

and the vertical member 6 provide a rail hook, whereby the frog mavbe arranged upon-either of the rails It. By reference to the drawings, it will benoted that the plat- ;formQ is disposed a distance below the horizontal wall? ofv the rail hook, the said distance approximately equaling the depth of the flange "of the wheellV of the truck T, while theplatform l'is arrangedfa distance above the platform 2 also equaling the depthv or thickness of the flangeof the'wheel iV.

The channel 4 is of a width only slightly greater than the'width of the flange of the wheel. The purpose of this arrangement the platforms 1 and 2, each of the frogs is providedwith flatguideways 9- and 10 respectively, while projecting a suitable distance from the ends of said inclined planes v are horizontally straight feet 11 and '12 re- 7 In carrying out myinvention- Iemploy' spectively, the lower walls ofthese *feet or plate extensions being parallel with the with the rail hook as the front face of the frog, and, therefore, 1 will designate, what 1 term, rear face of the frog, by the numeral 13. This rear face has its opposite ends arranged vertically of the juncture of the inclined planes 9 and 10 with the plate extensions 11 and 12, and each of the inner faces of said portion 12 converge gracefully inwardly and meet in a vertically straight wall 14 which is disposed a slight distance to the rear of the vertical edge or corner provided between the platforms 1 and E2, the inwardly curved or converging faces providing what T will term wheel directing flanges 15 and 16 respectively. The upper edges of these flanges are rounded, as at 17,

and each of the flanges is projected a suit-r able distance above the platforms 1 and 2, and, of course, above the planes 9 and 10. The upper face of the portion 13 of each of the frogs is horizontally straight, but for the sake of lightness, the central portion of the wall 13 is depressed as at 18, and the underface of each of the frogs between its inclined planes 9 and 10 and between its opposite side walls provided by the portions 6 and 13 is recessed, as indicated by the numeral 19, so that the frogs each comprise what may be termed a hollow member.

The inner walls of the directing flanges 15 and 16 are vertically straight, and when a truck T is to have its wheels W replaced upon the track R, and the said truck is in a position as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, the left hand wheel of the truck is to the outer side of the left hand rail R, and as a consequence, the opposite wheel of the truck is arranged between the rails R. The frog A is arranged upon the left hand rail and to the outer surface thereof, whilecthe frog B is arranged upon the right hand rail and upon the inner face thereof. The hook portions of the frogs are ordinarily suflicient to retain the frogs immovable, when once positioned, but the extending plates 11 and 12 materially assist in so sustaining the frogs. The wheels are moved toward the center of the frogs, the left hand wheel traveling upon the plate 10 of the frog A and the right hand wheel traveling upon the inclined plane 9 of the frog B. It will be noted that when the left hand wheel which is guided by the directing flangelli reaches-- the platform 1, its tread surface will be ar tively, to cause the flange of the wheel upon a the frog A to travel over the top member or plate 7 of the rail hook of the frog A and to be properly positioned upon the opposite or inner wall 8 of the rail hook, while in the mean time, the directing flange 15 of the frog B will cause the bearing face of the wheel traveling upon the said frog B to be arranged upon the upper member 7 of its rail hook and its flange or rim received within its channel i. A further movement of the truck will cause the remaining wheels there of to be properly positioned so that all of the wheelsof the truck will, after traveling over the upper wall 7 of the hooks, be properly arranged upon the rails.

From the above description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, my improvement will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such inventions appertain without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is: I v

1. In a car replacing means, a frog having a longitudinally extending rail hook on the inner side and a longitudinally arranged a channel disposed adjacent thereto, two cenl trally arranged horizontally level platforms, one of which is elevated above the other, and inclined planes leading from the platforms to the ends of the frogs, the outer side of the frog being elevated above the said platforms and curved inwardly toward the center of the frog to provide a dividing wall between the platforms In a car replacing means, two frogs each having a longitudinally extending rail hook on the inner side and a longitudinally arranged channel disposed adjacent thereto. two centrally arranged horizontallv level platforms, one of which is elevated above the other, and inclined planes leading from the platforms to the end of the frog, the

outer side of the frog being elevated above the said platforms and curved inwardly to ward the center of the frog to providea dividing wall between the platforms, and the higher platform of one of the frogs being disposed opposite the lower platform of the second frog. j p

3. In a car replacing means, a hollow frog having a longitudinally extending rail hook on the inner side and alongitudinally arranged channel disposed adjacent theretmf two centrally arranged horizontally. level platforms, one of which is elevated above the other, and inclined planes leading from the platforms to the ends of the frog, the outer side of the frog being elevated above the said platform'and curved inwardly toward the center of the frog to provide a dividing wall between the platforms, and the ends of the frog having downturned teeth.

4. In a car replacing means, a frog hav ing a longitudinally extending rail hook on the inner side and a longitudinally arranged channel disposed adjacent thereto, two centrally arranged horizontally level platforms, one of which is elevated above the other, and inclined planes leading from the platforms to the ends of the frogs, the outer side of the frog beingelevated above 3 the platforms and curved inwardly toward the center of the frog to provide a dividing wall between the platforms.

a 5. In a car replacing means, a frog having one of its edges provided with 'a rail en" gaging flange, the said frog having horizontally'straight portions which are centrally stepped, one of said horizontal portions beingdisposed in a plane below the rail engaging flange and the other in the plane above the rail engaging flange, the frog being provided with a channel between the flange and the horizontal portions, the frog being inclined toward its ends from the central horizontal portions, an oppositely curved flange connected with the said horizontal portions and with the inclined portions of the frog and terminating medially of the horizontal portions, and the said flange having its upper wall disposed above the wall of the raised horizontal portion.

6. In a car replacing means a frog having one of its sides formed with vertically disposed inwardly rounded wheel directing flanges which terminate medially of the frog, central horizontally level portions intersected by the meeting ends of the flanges, one of the said horizontal portions being elevated above the other portion, the upper.

face of the frog from the said horizontal portions being inclined downwardly to its ends, and the frog, adjacent its horizontal portions, being provided with a longitudinally extending rail engaging hook.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses,

LoUIs H. LEDBETTER.

Witnesses:

A. LAIRD, I G. F. STOUT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach. by addressing the Commissioner of latent,

Washington, D. 0. 

